...champions.

Congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs for their narrow sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals.

I don't even like watching basketball, but I thoroughly enjoyed this game. The officials did a fine job of ignoring incidental contact and just letting the players play. That made the game into one of the most"vicious" lower-scoring games I've ever watched. It was vicious in the sense of a hard fought game. Nothing bad came out of it, and it doesn't look like any enemies-for-life were created. The players were simply turned loose, allowed to play hard and regulated only when they stepped over the line of fair play. For once it was an enjoyable game of basketball to watch.

I think my favorite play of the game was an unsuccessful one. I cannot remember who lobbed up the shot in the 4th quarter at the tail end of an astonishing Cavs resurrection effort, but I can remember a rebound scramble with the ball heading out of bounds. Manu Ginobli of the Spurs was falling on his ass out of bounds but he still lunged for the ball to try to keep it alive. He missed, but it impressed me, a self-professed basketball hater. That man just doesn't give up.

Hell none of the players in the game gave up. I thought for a time in the 4th that the Spurs were going to lose because they slowed their agressive play just as the Cavs pushed theirs to full speed. The Spurs took a while to recover, but recover they did and earned their 1 point victory with sweat, grit and determination against a stampede by the Cavs.

Mr. Lebron James, I saw the disappointment on your face. You still acted like a man and fair competitor when you congratulated the Spurs on a personal level. Never fear, sir. Your day will come.

Well done to members of both teams for making me actually enjoy a basketball game!

...forgetfullness.


I'm deeply ashamed that it took this post at Hot Air to remind me of D-Day. Working 7 days a week tends to blur the calendar into a never-ending grind; but in the past, I've always made it a point to hoist a pint to everyone of that generation who prevented fascism from dominating the world. Since I was abruptly reminded that my present reality is owed to warriors from the past and present, here goes...

To the dead, wounded and missing of 06 JUN 44: here's a salute and a pint to you. You were warriors.

To the survivors of 06 JUN 44: here's a salute and a pint to you. You were warriors.

To our United Kingdom friends who fought with us and still support us: a salute and a pint to you. You were and still are warriors.

To our Aussie friends who fought with us and still support us: A salute and pint to you. You were and still are warriors.

To our Canadien friends who fought with us and honestly wish your cowardly government had the nads to still do it: a salute and a pint. You were and still are warriors.

To our French friends: well, thanks for a great time in Toulon during a port call that my Grandfather risked his life to provide (pint to him). You were and still are capitulators. A rectal/cranial inversion would help you out immensely. I hope your recent election is the first step towards that emotionally and intellectually painful process.

To our Polish friends who fought with us throughout the war and today revel in freedom enough to lock horns with the communist EU: a salute and a pint to you. You are warriors.

To my Grandpa who fought in North Africa and Italy: here's two salutes and two pints to you. I'm sorry your last heart attack was fatal before I was old enough to intelligently discuss with you the battles you fought in. You were a warrior.

To my other Grandpa who manned the factories back home: here's two salutes and two pints to you. I'm sorry that your stroke incapacitated you long before I could intelligently discuss matters on the home front with you. You were a warrior.

To both Grandmas: Two salutes and two pints apiece for keeping the home fires burning whether your husbands worked grueling hours in factories or were out there at the pointy end of the stick. The sacrificies made by you during national rationing of basic survival supplies is the unsung necessity of total war. You were warriors.

You are not forgotten even if I lapse on the present date. Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day, 4th of July, D-Day and hell, EVERY DAY are days I give thanks for allowing me to join your ranks and carry the torch of freedom for a brief period of time.

My final salute is to our present day troops of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Keep up the fight! We depend upon you. It's an awesome responsibility that you have volunteered for. Never forget that no matter the BS you have to deal with in your duties, the average Joe loves you for doing it. In return, I will try my best as an average Joe to never again forget a signifiant date in our history or a chance to salute you, our warriors, who keep us safe from harm.

Thank you, warriors past and present.